Kan Mansion.
"Establish his own mansion?"
Upon hearing the news, the Kan grandfather and granddaughter were both a little stunned.
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes.
They had just been discussing Zhao Ci. Combining the morning's events with Zhao Ci's subsequent behavior, they had all but concluded that Zhao Ci and Zhao Huan had worked together to set up a scheme and trick the Kan Family into this marriage.
So, they had discussed at length whether there was any way to annul the engagement.
After much deliberation, they came up with only two possibilities.
One: confront the Emperor head-on.
Two: have Zhao Ci voluntarily withdraw from the engagement.
But clearly, neither was realistic.
The situation was driving them to despair. They could only take a step back for now, assume the marriage was irreversible, and discuss how to save themselves under these circumstances—how to protect themselves while also pulling Zhao Ci out of the quagmire of the succession struggle between the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince.
But before they had even made any headway...
Zhao Ci was establishing his own mansion!
How was that any different from diving headfirst into the quagmire?
"Establish a mansion? What's wrong with that?"
Zhu Li's eyes were full of curiosity. "I hear that phrase all the time. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?"
Seeing her eager look, Kan Luotang couldn't help but feel a little exasperated. She gave her a brief explanation of the pros and cons of a prince establishing his own mansion.
Zhu Li grew annoyed as she listened. "Isn't this just dragging the entire Kan Mansion into a pit of fire? Could Zhao Ci have been so dazed by His Majesty's favor that he actually wants to vie for the Crown Prince's position?"
The grandfather and granddaughter looked at each other, both feeling a headache coming on.
Such a scenario wasn't entirely impossible.
Too much had happened today. The Kan Mansion had always avoided muddying its hands in politics, yet they were tricked into a marriage by the Emperor, who then immediately allowed Zhao Ci to establish his own mansion.
Perhaps the Emperor really was considering replacing the Crown Prince with Zhao Ci.
After all...
Kan Tianji had once met Princess Consort Jing. With her world-toppling beauty, it truly wasn't impossible for the aging Zhao Huan to lose his head for once.
But the question was... was Zhao Ci cut out for it?
Everyone was very realistic. Besides his pack of degenerate friends, who would be willing to gamble their own future to play along with him?
Kan Tianji was dejected. The Kan Family line was passed down through a single heir each generation, and Kan Luotang was the only one left. He really didn't dare to take such a risk!
"No! That's not right!"
Zhu Li suddenly frowned.
Kan Luotang asked, "What's not right?"
Zhu Li's eyes sparkled with wisdom. "Do you think Zhao Ci might be like those characters in the storytellers' tales, pretending to be mediocre and weak all these years just to seize power and soar to the heavens in a single day?"
Kan Luotang rubbed her temples. "Why would he pretend to be weak and mediocre?"
Zhu Li stated as if it were obvious, "To avoid arousing others' jealousy and hatred, of course!"
Kan Luotang asked again, "And did he avoid it?"
"Ah, well..."
"And for him to only soar to the heavens now, did he encounter some sort of opportunity?"
"Ah, well..."
Zhu Li was left speechless. Unwilling to give up, she looked at Kan Tianji. "Grandmaster Kan, don't you know how to read fortunes? Divine Zhao Ci's fate and see if I'm right."
Kan Tianji's beard trembled. "This old man only divines the heavens, the nation, and the cosmic patterns! I'm not some charlatan on the street!"
If fate were truly so easy to divine, he would have stopped his own son eighteen years ago from following Xiang Tiange onto the battlefield.
Otherwise, Kan Luotang wouldn't have been born without a father.
The father insisted on running with Xiang Tiange, and ended up dead.
Now the daughter was betrothed to Xiang Tiange's nephew, and her situation was just as frightening.
Kan Luotang comforted him softly, "Grandfather! There's no need to be so anxious. I feel... Zhao Ci might not be an unreasonable person. He said he would come to the Kan Mansion tonight. If we talk with him, we might be able to persuade him to turn back."
Kan Tianji nodded. "That's our only option!"
...
Tenth Prince's Mansion.
Zhao Ci eyed the newly acquired On-Spot Relief Charm and broke into a satisfied smile.
Huang Duzhe truly was a national treasure.
His emotional intelligence might be a bit low, but he was actually a pretty good guy.
Zhao Ci was in a great mood. His trip to the Imperial Study had been very fruitful.
Establishing his own mansion was a well-considered choice.
'If I want to gather enough points, I can't just keep my head down and grind wishes by myself.'
'Large-value wishes are rare and can't be forced, so I have to open up a path for high volume. I need to try and complete homogenous, low-level wishes in batches.'
Zhao Ci didn't have a concrete plan yet, but he knew power was indispensable for this process. Therefore, he had to choose to establish his own mansion.
Additionally, the merits he could earn after establishing his mansion were essential for obtaining high-level Cultivation Resources.
Besides that, he had also determined the general nature of the relationship between Zhao Huan and Gu Xiangzhu. Zhao Huan knew Gu Xiangzhu's identity in the Demon Sect, yet still delegated power to her. This indicated they must have some kind of cooperative agreement. However, judging by that Old Deng's wish, their alliance was a superficial one.
'This relationship... there might be a lot of room to maneuver here. There should be opportunities in the future.'
'The most pressing matter right now is to figure out how to recruit officials and earn merits!'
Zhao Ci rubbed his brow. The process of establishing his mansion had been smooth, but the path forward was still fraught with difficulty.
He was well aware of his problem.
After seventeen years of being a good-for-nothing, no one would be willing to follow him.
Unless he could prove to them that they could earn merits by following him.
"Merits?"
Zhao Ci took a thick booklet from his robes. This was what Zhao Huan had given him earlier in the Imperial Study. It was a publication from the Imperial Clan Court, containing a compilation of tasks registered by the four ministries: Works, Justice, War, and Revenue.
This was the source of merits after establishing one's mansion.
Zhao Ci skimmed through it and found that most of the entries were routine tasks for the four ministries.
The Ministry of Works was responsible for building bridges and paving roads. The Ministry of Justice handled investigating cases and apprehending criminals. The Ministry of War dealt with border defense. The Ministry of Revenue covered anything beneficial to the state's finances.
'None of these seem very easy.'
'Building bridges, paving roads, forging... these are all skilled trades. In my past life, I didn't study engineering, so I'm not good at this stuff.'
'Investigating cases and apprehending criminals... that's not bad. My ability to see others' wishes should be a huge help. But my cultivation is too low right now. I can't guarantee there won't be accidents, so I should shelve it for now.'
'The Ministry of War is even more dangerous. The people who dare to earn merits on the frontier are all top-tier badasses. I absolutely won't consider it before my strength increases.'
'So, is my main quest in the early stages just to make money?'
Zhao Ci pinched his chin. 'Isn't this supposed to be a transmigrator's specialty?' he mused.
But after carefully looking through the Ministry of Revenue's tasks and checking the relevant information, he was dumbfounded.
White sugar and soap? This world already had them.
Simple distillation existed too. There were spirits on the market over thirty percent alcohol. Even if he could distill something stronger, it wouldn't be that significant.
They had looms and such as well; it was just that they were more labor-intensive.
'A steam engine?'
Zhao Ci quickly dismissed the idea. The merits from establishing a mansion were only recorded for three years.
'My understanding of steam engines is limited to a high school textbook. Forget turning a profit in three years; it would be a huge problem just to get one working for production.'
'Besides, that thing would require the support of a large number of skilled laborers. The Imperial Clan Court would count all of that as labor costs, and only the remainder after deductions would be considered my merits.'
'Unless I can quickly recoup the costs and turn a profit, I might even end up with negative merits.'
'This is tough!'
'Looks like civilian production is a no-go.'
The other major categories under the Ministry of Revenue were closely related to Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and beast taming. These fields were a chaotic dance of powerful clans and families, and the Imperial Family was desperate to take a bite of that fat piece of meat.
Otherwise, Zhao Huan and Gu Xiangzhu wouldn't have been so stressed about the Pill Workshop lately.
But Zhao Ci had only just begun cultivating. How could he possibly make a breakthrough in these highly technical fields?
"Hiss... this is a bit overwhelming!"
Zhao Ci scratched his head frantically. 'Do I really have to risk it and go the criminal investigation route? Those are real, bona fide criminals. Can my scrawny arms and legs handle it?'
For the entire afternoon, Zhao Ci searched for a breakthrough, but as expected, he ended in failure.
He wasn't discouraged, though.
He glanced at the sky and headed out the door.
He needed to open up his mind, or at least talk to someone else and, while he was at it, scam... ahem, invite a teammate to join his mansion.
...
In front of the Feng Mansion's main gate.
"Where is your Young Master?"
"The Tenth Prince is here!"
The gatekeeper hurriedly said, "The Young Master is at home! This lowly one will lead the way!"
Zhao Ci gave a slight smile and followed him.
The person he was looking for was his best friend, the youngest son of the Patriarch of the Yingchuan Feng Clan—Feng Kucha.
This brother-in-arms and he were jointly known as the Hidden Dragon and Feng Chu of Lingge's good-for-nothing circle. The two became acquainted through their shared interest in teasing dogs and walking birds.
Zhao Ci genuinely enjoyed teasing dogs and walking birds, and the Feng Family happened to be a beast-taming family. Although Feng Kucha's cultivation was abysmal, he had a bit of a knack for beast taming, so Zhao Ci often sought his advice. Over time, they developed a deep friendship.
Feng Kucha was also a waste, but he was quite knowledgeable and should be able to provide some good ideas.
Soon, Zhao Ci was led to the small courtyard where Feng Kucha lived.
He looked around but didn't see Feng Kucha anywhere.
The gatekeeper said apologetically, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. The Young Master is currently practicing beast taming."
Zhao Ci was a little surprised. "Oh? He's been working so hard lately?"
The gatekeeper grimaced. "Our Young Master... he works very hard!"
Zhao Ci nodded. 'Even a salted fish dreams of flipping over. I can't mock them for it.'
So, he sat down and waited quietly.
He waited for about an hour, until the sky began to darken.
Zhao Ci couldn't help but feel a little antsy. Feng Kucha's diligence seemed a bit over the top.
That was when it happened.
CRACK!
The door to the Practice Room was smashed open.
A woman with cat paws and a cat's tail, but a human torso and face, fled in a panic, bound in chains. Except for the parts that hadn't fully transformed, which were covered in fur, the rest of her was completely naked.
Her looks were above average, but not exceptional.
But she looked hot.
Tears streamed down the cat-girl's face as she looked back in terror. "Young Master Feng! Please stop, I beg you! This humble servant can't take it anymore!"
A shirtless young man followed her out, his face full of anger. "You vixen, you never said you couldn't take it when you were harming people! Get back here! This young master is going to vanquish this demon and... huh? Zhao Ci, what are you doing here?"
Feng Kucha's expression froze, and he quickly pulled up his pants.
The corner of Zhao Ci's mouth twitched. "You told me you were practicing beast taming, and you were practicing beast taming?"
Feng Kucha: "..."